No butts about it in this case

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Marcus Graham is cashing in on stage presence rather
than sex appeal, writes Clara Iaccarino.

The last time Marcus Graham trod the boards it was his shapely
physique, in particular his nether regions, that caused the
greatest furore. Playing opposite Sigrid Thornton in David Hare's
The Blue Room, Graham got a MO Award for best male actor in
a play, and his nude scenes were gasp-worthy.

He's been on the road since September 2001, touring with The
Blue Room, filming comedies Horseplay and Josh
Jarman as well as directing a production of Steven Berkoff's
Greek with his own company Punks Palace. But now Graham is back on
stage performing in the all-star male cast of Reginald Rose's 12
Angry Men, directed by Guy Masterson.

When Masterson first mounted a production of this intense jury
room drama, he enlisted 12 comedians to play the roles at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After touring that production to the
Perth and Adelaide festivals, Masterson finds himself with a cast
of some of Australia's best actors including Peter Phelps, Henri
Szeps and Shane Bourne in a commercial production currently being
staged in Brisbane before moving to Sydney and Melbourne.

First produced for television, then as a film starring Henry
Fonda, 12 Angry Men is gripping. Exploring the volatile
atmosphere of a jury room, it pits 12 different personalities
against each other as the members of the jury deciding the fate of
a 16-year-old black youth accused of murdering his father. At first
count, 11 of the jurors believe he's guilty, but it is Graham's
character, juror eight, a level-headed architect, who questions the
certainty of their verdict, persuading the men to assess whether
there is "a reasonable doubt" about his guilt.

"It's an amazing piece to work on," Graham said from Brisbane.
"It has such a relentless driving energy to it. Twelve guys in a
room kind of going for it. No one drops a ball, it's pretty
intense."

While the script emerged in the 1950s from the era of
McCarthyism where anti-communist sentiment and fear tactics
reigned, Graham believes there are a number of parallels that can
be drawn today. As the prejudices of each man come to the
forefront, fundamentalist attitudes are exposed and the culture of
"us and them", which is so prevalent in the current climate,
prevails.

It is juror eight who presents the argument that "to be not sure
is surety", urging the other jurors not to be complacent, not to be
motivated by fear as they make their decision.

"He makes the stand that we're all innocent until proven
guilty," Graham said. "And it's too easy for us to think the other
way, particularly when we're motivated by fear within a society. We
see it week in and week out within our own country and in our
allies, we watch it all the time."

Revealing a microcosm of society, 12 Angry Men delves
into what it is to serve justice. But beyond the drama of the jury
room it also asks us to examine our own prejudices.